


coffeeshop.

by ruzekhalstead



Series: halstead & upton one-shots. [10]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, One Chicago (Chicago Franchise), Upstead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25583089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruzekhalstead/pseuds/ruzekhalstead
Summary: all hailey wants is a cup of hot coffee to get her through this next phase of studying; instead, her cell phone ends up cracked, her textbook lands on the floor with a thud and her cup of steaming hot coffee seeps through her cable knit sweater."are you fucking kidding me?"-university auprompt: hailey is in the middle of writing five exams in four days when a cute stranger dumps her coffee all over her and she ends up crying in the middle of a university coffee shop.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: halstead & upton one-shots. [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634428
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	coffeeshop.

hailey curses the day she ever decided to become a forensic psychiatrist. 

if she had known how draining it would be to get her undergrad degree—that’s not even including the years it’ll take to get her masters and phd—she would have hopped on a plane to europe and never looked back. 

it’s final exam season; her five exams are all strategically scheduled within four days and she’s about to lose her goddamn mind. she had just finished writing her first exam on cognitive psychology, and still had four more to go.

she nearly cried three times during the exam and all she wants is a cup of steaming hot coffee so she can stay up all night studying for her next two exams tomorrow. and that’s exactly what she’s in the process of doing but when she turns to put some cream in her coffee, she bulldozes straight into a hard body.

she drops her iphone (screen first, obviously), the textbook she’s holding and the steaming cup of coffee. oh, but it’s fine because the coffee spills all over her cable knit sweater. it easily seeps through and burns her body.

hailey lets out a grunt of pain. 

oh god, this could not be happening right now. 

“oh, shit!” 

she hears the deep voice of the body who ran into her and feels their arm shoot out to steady her; the arm is lean, muscled and definitively male. “shit, i’m really sorry.”

her skin is still stinging, and her phone and textbook are still lying on the ground; she can’t picture her day getting any worse, 

oh, but it did.

“hey, are you alright?” the mystery man is talking to her and she notices him ducking his head to look at her face when she hadn’t moved or reacted for a good thirty seconds. “i’m so sorry. please, let me buy you a new coffee.”

hailey still hasn’t reacted because she knows if she moves even a little bit, she’s going to lose her shit.

she catches a glimpse of his grey henley as he swoops down to pick up her textbook and—oh surprise, her iphone with a cracked screen. 

that is literally all it takes to break what is left of her sanity, 

“are you _fucking_ kidding me?”

the man in front of her blinks. he clearly isn’t expecting this kind of outburst, considering she had been silent during their whole interaction. 

“are you freaking kidding me?” hailey yells again, this time directing her withering glare up towards the ceiling. 

“uh, shit. i’m sorry,” the man in front of her looks extremely uncomfortable and at an utter loss for words. “i, um—”

hailey is so furious; she can’t even appreciate how unbelievably attractive he is. he’s tall and muscular with piercing green eyes, and if she wasn’t so distraught, she would be attempting and failing to flirt shamelessly. 

the blonde doesn’t stop to wait for his stuttering reply. she hastily grabs her items from his possession and pushes past him, aiming for the exit doors. she ignores how heavy and sticky her cable knit sweater suddenly feels and the overwhelming stench of coffee. she is desperate to get home and forget any of this ever happened. 

however, clearly, luck is not on her side today.

the unknown man chases after her. she isn’t expecting hailey to slam the glass door behind her and frowns when it collides with his body, but he powers through to catch her before she gets too far away. “hey! hold on, wait, pl—”

“what?” hailey snaps, whirling around to face him. the venom in her tone and the hostility in her eyes is enough to make his widen in surprise.

“shit,” he sighs, and she rolls her eyes because he’s already said that. “are you okay? you look really upset, and i’m really sorry. i just want to make sure you’re alright.”

hailey stares at him. she can’t picture anyone being fine after what had just happened, especially if they have as much going on in their lives as hailey does. and just thinking about everything she still has to do makes her even more upset. 

“no, i’m not okay,” she replies, surprising herself and the brunet man at her calm tone. her temperament throughout their whole interaction has been like a rollercoaster and he isn’t sure where they are at. “i’m covered in coffee, i just failed my exam and i still have four more to write within the next three days. all i wanted was coffee. that’s all.”

her tone drops from calm to just emotionless and she is so done with this conversation. 

instead of keeping her shit together and just walking away, she starts crying. 

his eyes widen. “oh fuck,” he swears and scratches the back of his head quickly. “okay, let’s go.”

hailey is so utterly confused at why she’s even crying; all she knows is her brain is exhausted and she has no idea what’s happening. but she watches as her mystery man grabs her arm and moves her aside; she jolts back to reality. “hey!” she starts to protest, and she is pleasantly surprised when she sees him rolling his light green eyes. 

“you’re crying in the middle of campus,” he hisses. she is truly shocked by the change in his tone, but when he looks at her, his features are still soft. “people are going to think i did something to you.”

hailey hastily wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. “you did do something to me! i’m covered in coffee!”

he visibly flinches. “i already apologized! i don’t know what else you want me to do.”

he has a point and she knows it, but there is no way she’s letting this stranger win this argument.

“what i want is to go home and study for my four exams!” hailey can see his eyes softening with every word she says. “what i want is to take a forty-seven-hour nap and get accepted into my master’s program,” her tone is visibly deflating, and the exhaustion is hitting her like a tidal wave. “what i want is to get through this week without any more emotional breakdowns.”

the green-eyed man listens carefully as she rants. he can see the obvious distress in her features and the exhaustion within her eyes. he is no stranger to any of those things himself and he completely understands why she snapped the way she did. but all that aside, he also can’t help but notice her beauty.

“i’m jay,” he blurts before he even thinks it over. 

her brows furrow and her watery blue eyes squint. “what?”

“that’s my name,” he chuckles nervously. “my name is jay.”

“oh,” she replies quietly, because she is very confused, and this conversation is getting away from her quickly.

a slow smile spreads across his features. “so, master’s program?”

hailey looks more confused than ever. he spilled coffee on her, watched her cry, snapped at her, let her yell at him in public and now he’s inquiring about her life? what the hell is going on?

“what is happening right now?” she voices her thoughts out loud.

jay bites his lip. “i think you’re very beautiful, and obviously very smart,” he’s rubbing at the back of his neck and it’s adorably awkward. 

hailey’s jaw pops open and she isn’t able to close it. “i literally just had my sixth breakdown of the week. does that not freak you the hell out?”

jay laughs and it is one of the most beautiful sounds hailey has ever heard. “not at all actually. if i was majoring in psych, i would be reacting the same, if not worse,” he gently pokes at one of her cognitive psychology textbooks in her hand. 

“and what are you majoring in?” 

she’s still confused as hell and stressed and covered in coffee. she’s still thinking about all the studying she has to do, but this absolutely stunning man is showing an interest in her and she’ll be damned if she just blows it. with all the studying she has to do on a regular basis, she doesn’t have much time to meet cute guys. this is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

a slow smile spreads across his features when he realizes she is slowly letting down her guard. “i'm pre-law actually,” he scrunches his nose adorably and she notices the freckles that line his gorgeous face. “which actually reminds me, i also have an exam to study for.

her face quickly pales. “oh my god, i have like four.” reality is closing in on her and it isn’t pretty. “i’m really sorry, i have to go,” she is already turning around and preparing to walk away when he grabs her arm hastily.

“can i please get your number?” he asks with a shy smile. 

“oh,” hailey blinks, “yeah—yeah, that sounds good.” 

and so, hailey shyly gives him her number and listens as he promises to call once their exams are done. he apologizes once again for spilling her coffee and with a sweet smile, he’s on his way. hailey still can’t believe the encounter and how it had transformed. she’s stressed and red eyed and not looking nearly as cute as she should be but somehow, she attracted the attention of an adorable green-eyed man and she feels giddy inside. 

so, she tightens her grip on her textbook and cracked iphone and sets off to fry her brain studying; but in the back of her mind, she can’t stop thinking about jay. 

**Author's Note:**

> a one-shot yesterday, another one today.. WHAT IS HAPPENING
> 
> my first AU!!! 
> 
> was it okay? did you guys like it? want to see more of these?
> 
> let me know!! this was originally written as a stiles/lydia fic but with some changes, i think it fit!!
> 
> follow me on tumblr: ruzek-halstead!!
> 
> anyway, enjoy & stay safe :)


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